Baseball players from Cleveland

Harvey Donald "Hank" Riebe (October 10, 1921 – April 16, 2001) was a Major League Baseball catcher for four seasons with the Detroit Tigers (1942, 1947–1949). He also received a Bronze Star and two Purple Heart medals while serving in the United States Army during World War II. He was a survivor of the sinking of the troopship SS Leopoldville off the coast of France on December 24, 1944, in which 763 soldiers lost their lives.Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Riebe signed with the Detroit Tigers after graduating from Euclid Shore High School in Cleveland. Riebe played in the minor leagues in Beaumont, Texas, Alexandria, Louisiana, Muskegon, Michigan, Henderson, Texas, and Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Rieber later recalled: "Detroit really moved players around a lot."
In August 1942, the Tigers called Riebe up to the big leagues. He played his first major league game in Philadelphia on August 26, 1942, in the second game of a Sunday double-header. Riebe hit a two-run double down the left field line. He went 2-for-4 in his major league debut and 4-for-4 a week later in his first game at Briggs Stadium. In all, Riebe hit .314 in 11 games for the Tigers in 1942.
After a promising start to his baseball career, Riebe was drafted into the U.S. Army after the 1942 season ended. He served in the 66th Infantry Division in Europe. On Christmas Eve 1944, Riebe was aboard the SS Leopoldville headed for Cherbourg, France, when it was sunk by torpedoes fired by a German U-boat. Riebe floated in the icy water of the English Channel and a Coast Guard cutter pulled him out. Over 750 American troops lost their lives in the sinking of the Leopoldville. Riebe was awarded a Purple Heart medal for injuries suffered in the Leopoldville sinking and later served with the 66th Infantry as it moved across Europe. In the spring of 1945, Riebe was injured by shrapnel from German artillery, earning his second Purple Heart award.
Riebe recalled listening on the radio from a tent in France as his teammates on the Detroit Tigers won the 1945 World Series.
Released from the military in early 1946, Riebe returned to the Tigers for spring training in 1946, but he did not make the team. He played the 1946 season in the minor leagues with Buffalo and Dallas.
In 1947, Riebe was elevated back to the major leagues but was the Tigers' third catcher behind Bob Swift and Birdie Tebbetts. Riebe played in only 8 games in 1946 and went hitless in 7 at-bats. When the Tigers acquired yet another catcher, Hal Wagner, Riebe was sent to Memphis in the minor leagues.
Riebe played briefly for the Tigers in 1948 and 1949, but he never came close to his .314 batting average of 1942. He hit .194 in 25 games in 1948 and .182 in 17 games in 1949. He played his last major league game for the Tigers on September 17, 1949.
Riebe played in a total of 61 major league games and had a career batting average of .212 and 11 RBIs.
Riebe also played for the Toledo Mud Hens in 1950 before retiring from baseball at age 28.
From 1951 to 1977, Riebe worked for a brass and copper company in Cleveland. He died of cancer in 2001 at age 79. He was born and died in Cleveland.
Riebe's brothers Mel Riebe and Bill Riebe played professional basketball in the National Basketball Association from 1944 to 1949.

William John Bonness (December 15, 1923 – December 3, 1977), nicknamed "Lefty", was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for one season. He played for the Cleveland Indians from September 26, 1944, to September 29, 1944.

Albert Julius Aber (July 31, 1927 – May 20, 1993) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He appeared in 168 games in Major League Baseball with the Cleveland Indians (1950, 1953), Detroit Tigers (1953–1957) and Kansas City Athletics (1957). Born in Cleveland, he threw and batted left-handed and was listed as 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and 195 pounds (88 kg).
Aber graduated from West Technical High School and was signed as by the Indians at age 19 in 1946. He made his major league debut on September 15, 1950, pitching a complete-game victory, allowing two runs. He did not play another game in the big leagues until 1953, spending the 1951 and 1952 seasons performing military service during the Korean War. He appeared in six games for the Indians in 1953, winning one and losing one, before being traded on June 15 to the Tigers with Steve Gromek, Ray Boone and Dick Weik for Art Houtteman, Owen Friend, Bill Wight, and Joe Ginsberg. Aber spent the next five years with the Tigers, where he compiled a 22–24 record. His best statistical season was 1955, in which Aber appeared in 39 games and won six, lost three, and had an earned run average of 3.38. He was then waived by the Tigers, and was picked up by the Kansas City Athletics, for whom he pitched in three games, his final appearance coming on September 11, 1957.In an interview in SPORT magazine in June 1956, Tigers catcher Frank House noted that Aber threw a "heavy" ball: "I could catch Billy (Hoeft) with a fielder's glove. Although he's fast, he throws a 'light' ball that makes it easy on the catcher. Al Aber, another leftie on our staff, is tough to catch because he throws a 'heavy' ball."
Aber became a sales representative after retiring. He died in 1993 at age 65 in Garfield Heights, Ohio.

Roman Anthony Semproch (born January 7, 1931), also known as Baby and Ray, is a retired right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1958 to 1961 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels.
He was signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent in 1951, but he did not make his big league debut until many years later – on April 15, 1958, against the Cincinnati Reds. The year prior, he'd gone 12–4 with a 2.64 ERA for the Triple-A Miami Marlins. In his first major league game, he gave up a hit and a walk, struck out two, and earned the win in a three inning relief appearance. Overall, he went 13–11 with a 3.92 ERA in 36 big league games (30 starts) that season. Although he was leading the league in wins at mid-season, his success tapered off and he finished with a winning percentage slightly higher than .500.
Asthmatic, Semproch never lived up to his rookie season's success. In 1959, he went only 3–10 with a 5.40 ERA in 30 games (18 starts). He was traded to the Tigers on December 5, 1959 with Chico Fernandez for Ken Walters, Ted Lepcio, and minor leaguer Alex Cosmidis. In 17 relief appearances for the Tigers in 1960, he had an ERA of 4.00 and a record of 3–0. Despite that moderate success, he was traded on June 15, 1960 to the Los Angeles Dodgers with cash for Clem Labine. He would never play in a Dodgers uniform.
On November 28, 1960, he was drafted by the Washington Senators in the Rule 5 draft (he and John Gabler were the first two player acquired by the "new" Washington Senators of 1961). On April 7, 1961, the Angels purchased him from the Senators. He'd appear in only two games for the Angels, posting a 9.00 ERA. He played his final major league game on May 2, 1961.
Overall, Semproch went 19–21 with a 4.42 ERA in 85 games (48 starts). In 344 innings, he walked 136 batters and struck out 156. He hit .116 at the plate and had a .965 fielding percentage.
Following his big league career, he worked as a bar manager at his brother's Italian restaurant.

Garry Earl Roggenburk (born April 16, 1940) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. The left-hander was listed as a lanky 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) tall and 195 pounds (88 kg). Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he was a high school teammate of Mike Hegan's at Saint Ignatius High School. The two would later be teammates with the 1969 Seattle Pilots.Roggenburk attended the University of Dayton, where he played college baseball and starred in basketball, leading Dayton to the 1962 National Invitation Tournament championship. He entered professional baseball in 1962 when he was signed by the Minnesota Twins. He was also selected in the fourth round (34th overall) of the 1962 NBA draft by the San Francisco Warriors.

James Michael Rittwage (October 23, 1944 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for one season. He pitched eight games for the Cleveland Indians during the 1970 season.

Elmer Donald "Pep" Rambert (August 1, 1916 – November 16, 1974) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates.Rambert's only decision came on the final day of his MLB career when he surrendered 8 runs in a 3–11 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Crosley Field.In the minor leagues, he played both pitcher and outfielder, beginning with the Leesburg Gondoliers and St. Augustine Saints of the Florida State League in 1937. During the latter part of his minor league career he was a player manager for the Cairo Egyptians (1946), Federalsburg A's (1947), Hagerstown Owls (1948), Eastman Dodgers (1951), and Cocoa Indians (1952).

Leonard John Perme (November 25, 1917 – January 24, 2009) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox in the 1942 and 1946 seasons. Listed at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), 170 lb., he batted and threw left-handed.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Perme was one of many major leaguers who saw his baseball career interrupted by a military stint during World War II. He started his professional career in the Northern League, pitching for the Fargo-Moorhead Twins (1938–1940) and Superior Blues (1941).
In 1942, Perme earned a call-up to the Chicago White Sox in late September after going 15–11 with a 3.22 ERA for Superior. He finished with a 0–1 mark and a 1.38 ERA in four appearances, and would appear to have a guaranteed spot in the rotation heading into the next year, but he had to join the military. He served in the US Navy from 1943 to 1946 and rejoined the Sox after being discharged during the 1946 midseason, but he not recovered his old form.
In a two-season career, Perme posted a 0–1 record with a 3.12 ERA in eight appearances, including one start, giving up six runs on 11 hits and 11 walks while striking out six in 17+1⁄3 innings of work.
Following his brief stint in major leagues, Perme resumed his career in the minors pitching for the Williamsport Tigers (1947–48), Toledo Mud Hens (1949) and Cubs de Drummondville (1951).
Perme died in Hayward, California, at the age of 91.

Dale Robert Mohorcic (born January 25, 1956) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1986 to 1990. Mohorcic was a star at Cleveland State University. After playing on farm teams for the Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates, Mohorcic signed with the Texas Rangers in 1985. His first two years, Mohorcic pitched well, having an ERA under 3.00. He holds a major league baseball record of 13 consecutive team games with a relief appearance, which he set from August 6–20, 1986. He was traded on August 30, 1988, to the New York Yankees for Cecilio Guante. His last year was with the Montreal Expos in 1990. He shares the Major League record for most consecutive games pitched at 13 with Mike Marshall.
In a 1987 game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Mohorcic was accused of doctoring the baseball. Umpires found no evidence of wrongdoing at the time, but after the game Mohorcic complained of a sore throat, and was admitted to a hospital where it was discovered that he was suffering internal bleeding as a result of having Crohn's disease and taking the pain reliever naproxen. It was erroneously reported by Peter Gammons that Mohorcic's bleeding was caused by swallowing sandpaper. He lives in Maple Heights, Ohio.

Glenn Ignatius Liebhardt (July 31, 1910 – March 14, 1992) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for three seasons. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1930 and the St. Louis Browns in 1936 and 1938.
Glenn's father, Glenn John Liebhardt, was also a major league pitcher.